Another Girl Says Roller-skating Coach Raped Her

Allegation Comes Minutes After Sentencing For Other Attacks

December 12, 1991|By Jay Apperson | Jay Apperson,Staff writer

After a former roller-skating coach pleaded guilty in October to raping two of his teen-age sons' girlfriends, a prosecutor said she had reason to believe there were more victims, and she asked them to comeforward.

Yesterday, minutes after the 37-year-old Jessup man was sentenced to 10 years in prison, a 14-year-old girl did just that.

Assistant State's Attorney Kathleen E. Rogers said the third girl, who was in the courtroom when the man was sentenced, approached heroutside the courthouse and said she also had been raped by the man. The girl was immediately interviewed by authorities.

"I expect we will place charges," the prosecutor said.

Rogers said the third girl's allegations are similar to those made by a 12-year-old member ofthe man's Laurel Lazers skating team, who said the man got her drunkand raped her at his trailer home in Jessup in August 1990. Like theother victims, the third girl also said the man's teen-age son was present when she was raped.

Prosecutors say the man also raped the 12-year-old girl in July 1990 in an equipment room at the Laurel Skating Center. In that case, the man then "called for (his 14-year-old son) and told him it was his turn," Rogers said.

Prosecutors said the former coach repeatedly raped a 14-year-old Old Mill High School student in the back of his van. In those cases, the man bought liquor for the girl and drove to a secluded area near Crownsville, where he raped her while the son held the girl's hand, Rogers said.

The man, whose name is being withheld to protect the juveniles' identities, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree rape. The son is scheduled to stand trial on similar charges next month as a juvenile.

Inexchange for the man's guilty pleas, prosecutors dropped charges of first-degree rape, which carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, and agreed to seek a prison term of not more than 10 years.

Before he was sentenced yesterday, the man, with his arms folded across his chest, said, "I'd like to say I'm sorry, your honor. I've ruined a lot of people's lives, including my own."

The man had been held since his bond was revoked in July in response to allegations that he threatened to kill a 13-year-old girl, a potential witness in the case. He also faces charges of violating his parole. His lawyer, Jennifer A. Corry, says his record includes convictions for theft, breaking andentering and writing bad checks.

During yesterday's hearing, Corry said the friendships between the victims and the man's family made the case much more complex than the prosecutor had painted it.

Parents of the victims said afterward that they had no idea what the defense lawyer was talking about. The father of the 14-year-old raped inthe van said he did not approve of the plea agreement because the man deserved to be sentenced to 40 years.

"It could've been anybody's daughter," he said. The girl's mother said the girl is "still shaky" and remains "very leery of men."

The 12-year-old victim attendedthe hearing. Afterward, she said, "I just wanted to see him put away," and then she began crying. Her father said she remains in counseling, and he predicted that "in time, other things will come out" in the case. He refused to elaborate.

Leaving the courthouse, Rogers said she had received no response to her October appeal for victims to come forward, but she wondered whether some were waiting for the man to be sentenced.

But minutes later, the third girl stepped forwardto say the man had raped her between August and December 1990.